The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit reinstated a conspiracy charge against alleged terrorist Jose Padilla Tuesday, reversing a lower court decision that the charge duplicated the other two counts against Padilla and his two co-defendants. The reinstated charge, conspiracy to "murder, kidnap and maim persons in a foreign country," carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, unlike the other two charges. The court rejected the argument that the charges were multiplicitous and in violation of the US Constitution's double jeopardy clause, holding that different proof was required to establish each count. Judge Gerald Bard Tjoflat said in his opinion: "While these three charges are interrelated, they are not interdependent," as Padilla could theoretically be found to have violated the statutes of one count without having violated statutes of the others.

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